George w



(No Model.)

G; W. MCKENZIE.

VISE,

No. 447,580. Patented Mar. 3, 1891.

UNTTE STATES ATENT OFF QE.

GEORGE \V. MCKENZIE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

VISE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,580, dated March 3, 1891.

Application filed November 24, 1890. Serial No. 372,413. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE V. MCKENZIE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vises, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide such improvements in vises as shall overcome the chief objection to wooden Vises in use by wood-workers generally; viz.,the difficulty of keeping the jaws parallel both while in motion and while an article or piece of work is clamped firmly between them and it consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a cross-section of a bench with a vise attached thereto provided with my improvements. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, A represents the movable and B the fixed jaw of a wooden bench-vise, the jaw B being affixed to the bench in any suitable way and the jaw A being adapted to be moved toward and from the j awB by means of a screw P in the usual or any suitable manner, the vise in this respect being of the wellknown and ordinary construction.

M and N represent the front and back legs of the bench, respectively, and the bench may be of ordinary construction, except as hereinafter modified. Between the back and front legs N M of the bench are affixed the pieces E F, preferably of hard wood and fixed to said legs. To the under surface of the piece E is affixed a ratchet G, which is secured to said piece E by screws or by any other suitable means. The piece F serves as a track for the roller L, presently described.

0 represents a guide-piece firmly attached to the lower end of the movable jaw A and projecting under the bench between the pieces E and F. At the lower side of the inner end of said guide-piece C is a roller L, which is adapted to bear on the track-piece F and to run on said track-piece when the guide-piece C is moved inward or outward by the corresponding movement of the movable jaw A toward or from the fixed jaw B.

On the upper side of the inner end of the guide-piece O is a dog H, which is adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet G. The said dog is attached to the guide-piece G by means of screws H H", passing through slots in said dog, the said slots extending lengthwiseof the dog, so as to permit of a slight horizontal endwise movement of the dog. Said screws H H are loosely turned in,and are sufficiently loose to permit the outer end of the dog 1-1 to rise vertically to' the extent of about onesixteenth of an inch, for a purpose hereinafter set forth. The guide-piece C has also affixed to its upper surface a backing piece or support I, which has a V-shaped groove in its edge nearest the dog H, into which groove the proximate edge of the said dog, which is correspondingly shaped,is adapted to fit, thus preventing the said dog from tipping sidewise, as being loosely fastened it might otherwise be liable to do. The backing piece or support I is firmly affixed to the guide-piece O, and is adapted to form a support for the dog H when the latter is forced horizontally against it, the slots in said dog being of such size as to prevent any strain falling on the screws H5 H", which loosely fasten the dog to the guide-piece O.

The dog H is kept normally about one-sixteenth of an inch separated from the backing piece or support I by means of a spring S, which is inserted in a hole J, cut in the guide-piece C, said spring consisting, preferably, of a piece of suitable metal, which is forced against one side of said hole J by means of a plug K. The upper end of the spring S is engaged with the dog H, and tends to keep said dog normally in the position shown in Fig. 1.

- D represents a strengthening piece or bar attached to the bench-legs M and N, and also to the cross-pieces E and F, and is mainly for the purpose of supporting the latter parts against the strong pressure to which they are subjected when the vise is in use.

The strips 0 and 0', Fig. 2, are affixed to the bench-legs M and N on each side of the guide-piece C in such a way as to allow of considerable side movement of said guidepiece, so as to adapt the jaws to hold work that may not be exactly parallel horizontally without allowing it to move sufficiently to throw the dog II out of line with the ratchet G.

The operation of the vise is as follows: \Vhen an article or piece of work is to be clamped between the jaws the movable jaw A is moved outwardly by the screw until the space between the jaws A and B is sufficient to allow of the insertion of the article therebetween, the guide-piece 0 moving outward freely along with the movable jaw A and the dog If running just free of the teeth of the ratchet G. The article is then inserted be tween the jaws A B, which are then moved toward each other by means of the screw P, in the usual way, and whenever the upper end of the jaw A comes to a bearing on the article to be clamped the inner end of the guide-piece G will be caused to tilt slightly upward, thus engaging the dog II with one of the teeth of the ratchet G. The amount of horizontal movement allowed said dog H before it touches the backing piece or support I will be taken up by the tightening of the jaw A upon the work, and by the time said jaw is firm upon the work the dog II will be in firm contact with one of the teeth of the ratchet G, the inner end of the guide-piece O first moving inwardly and upwardly in the arc of a circle, thus engaging the dog II with one tooth of the ratchet, and then being caused to move slightly downwardly by the springing of the jaw A, caused by the pressure of the screw P and the article clamped, the vertical play allowed said dog permitting it to remain in firm contact with the tooth of the ratchet with which it is engaged. The amount/of motion of the lower end of the movable jaw sufficient to throw the dog firmly into the ratchet is about five-sixteenths of an inch, and consequently I arrange said jaws A B so as to hang normally about that distance farther apart at their lower ends than at their upper ends when nothing is clamped between them, so that when they are clamped tight upon a piece of work they will be parallel or as nearly so as it is possible to have them.

The track F, on which the roller L of the guide-piece U runs, and the screw 1, which actuates the jaws, are arranged on parallel lines, so that outward or inward movement of the screw will cause the lower end of the jaw A to travel exactly with the upper end thereof; or, in other words, the difference in the distance between the jaws A B at their upper and lower ends will be five-sixteenths of an inch, whether the said jaws are wide apart or near together.

The dog H is so arranged with relation to the ratchet G that when there is nothing between the jaws A B the dog will just clear the teeth of said ratchet, while the presence of any article or piece of work between the upper ends of said jaws and being compressed thereby will give the inner end of the guide-piece O a sufficient cant up to cause the dog If to engage with the teeth of said ratchet, as already described.

The ratchet G, dog II, and backing piece or support I are preferably of wrought-iron or steel; but I do not limitmyself to the material of which any part of my improved vise may be made.

I do not confine myself to the exact construction and arrangement of details here shown and described, but may variously modify the same without departing from the nature and spirit of my invention. For example,the jaws may be supported horizontally, instead of vertically, on the bench, as is sometimes done, and the co-operating parts be arranged correspondingly.

I claim- 1. The improved vise consisting of a fixed jaw affixed to a bench or other suitable support, a movable jaw, a screw adapted to move said movable jaw toward and from the fixed jaw, a guide-piece affixed to the lower end of said movable jaw and sliding on a track under said bench, a dog affixed to the upper side of the inner end of said guide-piece, and a ratchet supported in suitable relation with said dog, as set forth.

' 2. In a vise, the combination, with a bench, of the fixed jaw attached thereto, the movable jaw, a screw adapted to move said movable jaw toward and from the fixed jaw, the guide-piece affixed to the. lower end of said movable jaw and adapted to move on atraek under said bench, a dog affixed to the upper side of the inner end of said guide-piece by screws passing through slots in said dog and llowing a slight amount of horizontal and vertical movement to said dog, the backing piece or support I, adapted to prevent a too great horizontal movement of said dog, and the ratchet supported above said guide-piece in suitable relation to the said dog, as set forth.

3. The improved vise consisting of a fixed jaw affixed to a bench or other suitable support, a movable jaw, a screw adapted to move said movable jaw toward and from the fixed jaw, the guide-piece 0, attached to the lower end of said movable jaw and projecting under the bench or other support, the cross piece F, acting as a track on which the guide-piece 0 moves, the roller L at the under side of the inner end of said guide-piece, the dog H, loosely attached to the upper side of the same by screws passing through slots in said dog, and thus allowing said dog a slight horizontal and vertical movement with relation to said guide-piece, the cross-piece E, the ratchet G on said cross-piece and supported thereby just out of engagement with the dog II when the latter is in its normal position and so as to be engaged by said ICC.

two subscribing witnesses, this 21st day of November, A. D. 1890.

GEORGE W. MCKENZIE.

Witnesses:

(3. F. BROWN, A. D. HARRISON. 

